The Elite Advantage: AI, Automation and Outsourcing

I am an advocate of economic trends and technology impacts, and had observed a widening gap between the elite and general population mainly due to the programs of AI, automation, and outsourcing. Through these transformations, our economic ecosystem is being molded in such a manner that the major beneficiaries tend to be the people on the top economic ladder.

AI and Automation: Boosting Corporate Profits

The utilization of AI and automation has directly increased corporate profits. There is one analysis from the McKinsey Global Institute, according to which AI could bring about $13 trillion growth to the global economy by 2030. However, this wealth is not so equal.

Mainly, big businesses and tech companies have been profiting the most from this AI-fueled development. E. g., thanks to the introduction of AI in the warehouses, Amazon has received the highest efficiency of 20-25% leading to revenue worth billions on top of the usual profit. On the other hand, warehouse carriers have wage stagnation and job insecurity.

Job Displacement Across Industries

The effect of automation on the job market is not identical in all areas and industries. In particular, the data obtained by the World Economic Forum tells us that by 2025, 85 million jobs might be displaced by the transfer in labor sector between humans and the machine. Lower-skilled workers in the manufacturing sector, retail and customer service are often the most vulnerable.

Nonetheless, the report also discusses that there might be 97 million new employment opportunities. The issue is with the disparity between the abilities of the workers who have lost their jobs and the qualifications of these new jobs, thus conspicuously frightening them out of the job market.

Outsourcing and Global Wage Structures

Outsourcing is not stopping to make the labor costs all around the world the cheapest one. In developed countries, it has been at the origin of the rise of middle class job loss. The research paper by the Economic Policy Institute has proven that the US is the one that lost 3.4 million jobs due to moving to China between 2001 and 2017 in the factories area mainly.

On the one hand, outsourcing is creating job opportunities in developing countries, on the other hand, it is also undermining the quality of labor and working conditions. It's a global competition among the multinational corporations to find the cheapest labor cost in the world, which in the end leads to the primary benefitters being the multinational business owners and the shareholders.

Education and Skills Training: A Partial Solution

Education and skills training have been the ones most advocated for as solutions for these challenges. However, these solutions alone cannot solve all the problems. The rapid change in the area of technology is a tough challenge for the educational systems, as they rapidly become outdated. Also, higher education can tighten already existing inequalities in a society due to expensive and specialized training programs.

Policy Solutions for Equitable Distribution

The solution for this problem could be achieved through the implementation of a series of comprehensive policies. Here are some steps that could be taken:

• Progressive tax code for automation and AI profits
• Basic income for everyone to provide security
• More stringent labor rights and collective bargaining
• Investment by the government in lifelong learning and skills development programs

These steps could be instrumental in turning technological progress into a phenomenon that encompasses the whole of society, rather than only the privileged.

Counterarguments and Alternative Perspectives

All viewpoints must be respected. Advocates of capitalism life the regulation of market by the government in terms of technological advances and globalization has things which lifted many people out of poverty sheerly throughout our planet. Their argument is about the fact that if we put any limitations to these forces, the chances of the technology industries' growth would diminish a lot.

Neverthless I am convinced that the world will go through much inequality without our intervention. The secret is how to achieve the delicate balance between patrolling the changes and ensuring the broadest happiness for all the people.

Conclusion

As we are moving through this new epoch of technological change, it is crucial that we address the increasing gap between the elite and the general populace. While Artificial intelligence, robotics, and outsourcing have the potential to largely increase the economy, we need to make sure these profits are shared equally.